Knife cooling means for cutting machines



'F. G. CLARK KNIFE COOLING MEANS FOR CUTTIbiG MACHINES Oct. 29, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 17, 1957 INVENTOR. 57 5% H0 2' we Oct. 29, 1957 F. G. CLARK KNIFE COOLING MEANS FOR CUTTING MACHINES Filed June 17, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 w a 5 z W F w WM v v f" i w W W m M W W 1 5 f? Q m\ w 5 M a w w 37 v .2 a 7 2 4/ L Q x F W a M w 7 W 7 linited States Patent Frederick G. Clark, Buffalo, N. Y., assignor to Eastman Machine Company, Bulfalo, N. Y.

Application June 17, 1957, Serial No. 665,930 6 Claims. (Cl. 30-123) This invention relates to cutting machines of the type commonly used for cutting cloth and other sheet materials and including a motor driven, rcciprocatory knife.

When machines of this kind are used for cutting some types of sheets, particularly sheets made of or including certain types of plastics, the portions of the sheets adjacent to the rapidly reciprocating knife become heated up to a point where the material begins to melt or becomes soft. This not only damages the material, but also makes it very difiicult to advance the knife through the same. Attempts to cool the knife by directing coolant at the portion of the same above the material has not proven effective, probably due to the fact that the coolant does not contact the material itself. It is consequently one of the objects of this invention to provide a cutting machine of this type with means for conducting a coolant to the lower portion of the knife which is in contact with the material being cut.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a cutting machine of this type with an air passage in the usual standard along which the knife reciprocates and to provide a plurality of passages through which coolant may be directed to the portion of the knife which is in contact with the material being cut, and to the material itself.

Another object is to provide cooling means in which air is employed for cooling the knife and with which lubricant may be supplied to the knife with the air.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description of some embodiments of the invention, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out hereinafter in connection with the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a front view of a cutting machine provided with cooling means embodying this invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view thereof on an enlarged scaie on line 3-3, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation thereof on line 44, Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, sectional elevation thereof on a still larger scale on line 5-5, Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a transverse, sectional plan view of the knife guide or slide used on machines of this type.

My improvements may be applied to any desired type of cloth cutting machine, that shown by way of example, including a base 9 formed to rest on and to be moved about on a table which supports the lay of material to be cut and which in the use of the machine is moved underneath the material.

An upright standard 10 is rigidly secured to the base and extends upwardly therefrom and supports the stationary frame 11 of an electric motor which reciprocates the knife 12 in a vertical guide at the front of the standard 19.

The cutting machine may be provided with handles 14 and 15 secured on the frame of the machine for guiding the machine during its movement.

' this purpose I provide a hole or air 2,810,954 Patented Oct. 29, 1951 ice In machines of this type, the knife is generally guided in a groove or slot formed in the front edge of the standard, preferably between a pair of knife slides or guides 17 and 18. 19 represents a filler or back support. These three members are arranged in the groove of the standard 10 and may be connected with each other by means of a rivet 20 or other suitable means. This assembly of the knife slides or guides and the filler or back support connected by the rivet 20 are removably secured in the groove formed in the front edge of the standard by any suitable means, such as transversely extending connecting pins 21, as has heretofore been customary.

I prefer to employ air as a coolant for the knife and to direct the same to the portion of the knife which is in contact with and cuts through the material, and for passage 22 which extends downwardly from the upper end of the standard in back of the groove formed therein. Near the lower end of this passage 22 I provide a connecting passage 24 which leads from the knife guiding slot at the front of the standard to the passage 22.

In order to enable the air to flow from the passage 24 to those parts of the knife 12 which are in contact with the material, I provide between the rear edge of the filler or back support and the inner wall of the knife guiding groove a longitudinally extending recess 25 which constitutes a manifold for supplying air to the filler. In the particular construction shown, I have recessed the rear edge of the filler 19 to form this passage 25, and in order to let the air pass from this passage to the knife, I provide the filler at intervals at opposite faces thereof with shallow grooves or channels 27 in opposite sides thereof, these channels extending from the front to the back face of the filler and consequently communicate with the recess 25 at the back edge of the filler. Since there is a small amount of clearance between the knife itself and the two knife guides or slides 17 and 18, the air from these grooves 27 can readily pass between the knife and its guides, thus cooling the knife by contact therewith, and as this air is discharged from the forward ends of the spaces between the knife and the slides or guides, it will move into contact with the material which is being cut and thus cool the material sufficiently to prevent heating the same to such an extent as to cause the same to become softened and interfere with the cutting of the same.

The supply of air to the passage 22 in the standard may be from any suitable source connected with a hose or tube 30 which has a suitable connection with a laterally extending hole or passage 31 in the lower part of the frame of the motor and which connects with the hole or passage 22 in the standard.

It may at times be desired to supply lubricant to the knife and this can readily be done by supplying the lubricant with the air in the form of a spray or mist, for example, providing a lubricant atomizing device 35 in the air line or tube 30 so that the lubricant will be conducted through the air passages decribed to the spaces between the filler or back support, the knife and the slides 17 or 18.

The cooling means described have proven very satisfactory when used in cutting materials which could not be cut by cutting machines of the type heretofore used for cutting cloth and other fabrics. By supplying air or other coolant directly to the part of the knife which contacts the material, as shown, the coolant acts not only on the knife but also on the part of the material which is being cut. If a lubricant is supplied to the knife and material with the coolant, this serves to reduce the heating of the material while being cut.

The construction described has the further advantage that by conducting the coolant through the hole or pasno change in the knife,

the cooling means as described are such that they involve so that the machine can operate without-theuseof any special knives.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials and arrangements of parts which have been herein described and illustrated in-order to explain the nature of the invention may be made by those skilled in the art within the principal and scope of the invention as expressed in the appendedclaims.

I claim as my invention: a

l. A cutting machine of the type including a base, a standard secured to said base and extending upwardly therefrornrand having a groove in the front edge :thereof, a reciprocating knife slidable in-said groove, that improvement which includes a hole for coolant in said standard extending from the upper portion thereof to the portion of the standard which is immediately in rear of that part of the knife which contacts w-ith the material which is being cut, and passages between said'knife and said groove through which coolant from said hole may pass along the sides of the knife to the material. 2. A cutting machine of the type including a base, a standard secured to said base .and extending upwardly therefrom and having a groove in the front edge thereof, a reciprocating knife slidable in said groove, and a back supportin said groove against which the back of theknife bears, that improvement which includes means for supplying coolant to said groove at the portion thereof immediately in rear of that part of the knife which contacts with the-material which is being cut, and grooves in the sides of said back support through which coolant may pass along the sides of the knife to the material. a 3. A cutting machine according to claim 2 in which a portion of said back support in rear of the part of the knife which contacts the material to be .cut is recessed to form a passage for coolant, and in which said passage in the sides of said back support receive coolant from said recessed portion of said back support.

4. A cutting machine of the type including a base, a standard secured to said base and extending upwardly therefrom and having a groove in the front edge thereof, a reciprocating knife slidable in said groove, and a back support in said groove against which the back of the knife bears, that improvement which includes a passage for a coolant extending downwardly in said stand- 7 ard' from the upper end thereof, means for admitting coolant into said passage, a portion of said back support near the lower portion of said knife being spaced from the back of said groove, means for admitting coolant from said passage to the space between said back support and the back of said groove, and passages in said back support through which coolant from 'said space may pass to said knife. 7

' 5. A cutting machine of the type including a base, a standard secured to said base and extending upwardly therefrom and having a groove in the front edge thereof, .a reciprocating knife slid-able in said groove, that improvement which includes means for supplying coolant to said groove at the portion thereof immediately in rear of that part of the knife which contacts with the material which is being cut, passages between said knife and said groove through which coolant may pass along the sides of theknife to the material, and means for ad mitti-ng lubricant-to said passages with said coolant;

6. A cutting machine of the type including'a base, a standard secured to said base and extending upwardly therefrom and having -a groove in the front edge'thereof,

a reciprocating knife -slidable in said groove, that improvement which includes means for supplying air to said that part of the knife which contacts with the material which is being cut, passages between said knife and said groove through which air may pass along the sides of the knife to said material, and atomizing means which supplies lubricant to the air passing to said groove.

'No references cited.

groove at a portion thereof immediately in rear of a 

